Apparatus for breaking and transporting iron products.



A. G. EASTWOOD. APPARATUS FOR BREAKING AND TRANSPORTLNG IRON PRODUGTS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7.1905.

Patented June 29, 1909.

miimilw tripped tached to the cable.

APPARATUS FOR BREAKING AND TRANSPORTING IRON PRODUCTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 29, 1909.

Application filed November 7. 1905. Serial No. 286,186.

nets, of which the following is aspeci-fication.

My invention relates to a new and useful combination of devices for breakin u and handling products of iron orsteel it is desired to remelt or otherwise treat. These products may be in the form of skulls as they are called, which are composed of steel or iron which accumulates on the inner liningof ladles which have been filled with the molten metal, castings which have come from,

the sand in imperfect condition, Worn-out machinery which has been scrapped, etc. In the past this material has been roken u by what is commonly known as a sku l' cracker, which consists of a tripod fifty to seventy-five feet high, arranged at the top of the structure with a sheave, over whici passes a hoisting cable. The free end of the cable is rovided with a hook which may be by means of a rope. This hook engages an eye in a heavy weight which is hoisted by means of a suitable engine at-- When the weight has reached the requisite height, it is tripped by the operator who'pulls the rope attached to the hook. The weight is thus released and falls on the casting or other scrap which is thereby broken. This is a very slow and expensive process as the tripod is stationary and the point at which the weight may strike is therefore a fixed'point. -Theaim of the weight is also frequently destroyed by the pull on therope required to release the trip.

requently also the weight in striking will roll over in such a way that the hook or eye in the weight will not be in an accessible position for attaching the hook again, necessitating the Work of several men to turn over the weight so that the hook may be attached.

Inasmuch as weights as high as twenty thousand pounds are frequently employed, this becomes a very tedious and expensive matter. Further, when the castings have been broken up, the broken ieces are usually gathered-up by hand and oaded into cars. My device may be used to break articles of any nature, whether of magnetic material or not, or to drop weights for other purposes I circuit than the breaking of articles.

With my improved apparatus when used in its preferable form, all hand work is eliminated in handling the scrap and placing it at the proper point; in attaching the weight to the hoist, in releasing the weight from the hoist to causeit to drop andlin gathering up thebroken pieces and reloz ding them into Suitable cars or receptacles. The weight is released in such a manner that there is no tendency to destroy its aim by causing it to swing. A single operator can coin'cnienll operate the entire ap aratus with convenience and dispatch an a number of men are dispensed with in what may be considered a very dangerous occupation inasmuch as acuidents due to flying pieces of metal are very numerous with the ordinary form of skull cracker now in use.

My arrangement consists, in its preferable form, of an overhead crane, traveling upon a runway of suitable height, and being preferably of standard forrnfpcrmits free liiotlon in three directions, namely, the bridge of the crane travels horizontally along the runway,

the trolley which carries the hoisting mechanism travels horizontally on the bridge ol the crane transversely of the direction of travel 'of the bridge, and the hook attached to the hoisting cables or chains, of course, travels vertically. By this arrangement the hoist of the crane covers practically all of the spaccunder the runway.

I attach to the hook of the crane. an electro magnet, preferably of the form described over or rolls to oneside, as it always reprcsents a face of the same contour to the poles of the magnet. The magnet which I prefer to use is concave on its lower face and there-' fore adapted to engage with spherical surfaces. The crane is equipped with a flexible electrical cable for conveying current to the magnet as it is moved about by the crane and the operator is provided with a switch by means of which the magnetizing circuit of the magnet may be closed and opened. The ma net is lowered u on the weight, the c fosed, the weight oisted slightly and 1 the crane so moved that the weight is poised directly over the metal which it is desired tostrike. The weight is then hoisted Vertically to its full height and the circuit of the magnet is opened. -The weight is instantly re- -,-leasedand drops down upon the metal to be broken. After the scrap or .castlngs are broken, themagnet is used for gathering up the broken pieces and loading them into cars. The operator is such a height above 1 the ground that in ordmary cases he 15 not exposed to the danger of flymg leces ol metal and in any event he can readi y be protected by placing suitable screens around his cab.

It will readily be understood that by the arrangement above described a large-amount of labor which is necessary with other devices is dispensed with and at the same time the risk of accident to workmen is very materially reduced.

The form of crane which I have above described ispreferable for the work. However, what is known as a=Gantry crane could be used which has a suitable bridge member carried by suitable shear legs which are provided with trucks and run upon rails on the ground. The bridge member, of course, is provided with the usual trolley which carries the hoisting mechanism across the bridge. A swinging or jib crane can also be used for the purposes described and the magnet could with considerable advantage also be applied to the stationary form of tripod skul cracker. Referring to the drawing which forms a part of this specification, Fig. 1 is an eleva tion illustrating one of the many ways in which my invention can be embodied ;,Fig. 2, a modification of 1 showing a second method of taking up the slack of the conductor cable; and Fig. 3, sectional View and end elevation ol' one way in which the conductor cable may be attached to the winding drum and the collector'rings.

In the accompanying drawing A is the bridge of an electric overhead traveling crane, which is propelled by motor A a'long rails A A which are carried on suitable runways supported by columns A A A trolley B is adapted to be propelled across the bridge A by means of a suitable electric motor B geared to the track wheels running upon suitable rails, as R, carried by the bridge member in the usual manner. The trolley is provided with a second electric motor B which is connected through suitable gearing with a hoisting drum B The drum B is supplied with a suitable cable B for ..-h )isting the load. Electric current is supplied to the crane'by sliding contacts V co- 9 acting with the stationary trolley wires X,

Y, mounted along the crane runway. I

Suit able controllers (not shown) are placed in theoperators cal) C for operating the val rious vmotors on the crane. There is also contained within the operators house a the circuit of the magnet througilg small switch or controller K, which controls the circuit of a magnet M attached to the crane hook B In ordinary cases a simple switch only is required for closin and 0 enin the circuit of the magnet. Where a liigh v0 tage is used, however, I prefer to open a resistance as by means of a controller thereby reducing the inductive discharge at the time of final opening of the circuit. Current is supplied to the magnet through the twin conductor cable M composed of the two conductors M M Suitable trolley Wires X Y, which are not shown in their proper relative position, are employed for transmitt 1g current for energizing the magnet M. One end of the conducting cable M is mechanically at tached to the winding drum D (see Fig. 3)

and the two conductors M M are connected electrially with two insulated collector rings D and D carried on the shaft D of the drum D. Suitable stationary contacts of brushes 1) and D cooperate with these collector rings for, the purpose of supplying current to the magnet W 'e the drum D is rotating. Suitable sliding or rolling contacts X and Y coact with the trolley wires X Y and are in turn connected by the wires X and Y to the brushes D -and D on the winding drum D. I

W is a steel ball or weight which is used for breaking up the material to be broken. This mater al may be conveniently delivered in railroad cars which pass under the bridge of the crane. The skfills, castings, or inetallic pieces to be broken are unloaded by means of the magnet M and placed in the desired' position on..the ground. The weight Wis then brought into play as hereinbefore ex lained and dropped upon the castings or ot or articles to be broken from a suitable height to properly break them, The broken pieces are then gathered u by means of a magnet M and loaded either into the same cars or into other cars or conveyors provided for thepurpose.

Referring now to Fig. 2 the cable M passes over the sheave F, and is looped over the sheave F, the loop F carrying the traveling sheave F3,- to which is secured the weight F which serves in an evident manner to keep the cable tight, as the magnet is raised and lowered.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In combination in a device for breaking articles below the same, a drop-weight to break the articles, a hoisting device, a magnet attached to said hoisting device and adapted to lift said weight upon actuation of the hoisting device, a suliicient distance to cause the weight, when released, to fall upon and break said articles and means for causing said magnet to release said weight. 2. In combination, a drop-weight, a magnet adapted to lift said Weight a sufficient distance to cause the weight, when released, to Fall upon and break an article below the some, a traveler to move said magnet horizontzilly, and means for causing said magnet to release said Weight. o

8. In an appa-gmtus for breaking and trans- .porting magnetic products, a traveler have in horizontal movement, a hoisting device thereon, an eleetro-nmgnet attached to the hoisting device and adapted to attract to itself magnetic articles to be transported to a -convenient place to be broken and to be- 

